The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2,87 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 992 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) | 5% repair rar
© 2006 Warner Music Japan | WPCR-12438~12445
Rock / Alternative / Indie Rock / Indie Pop

Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue release from The Smiths. The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the '80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the '90s. Sonically, the group was indebted to the British Invasion, crafting ringing, melodic three-minute pop singles, even for their album tracks. But their scope was far broader than that of a revivalist band. The group's core members, vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, were obsessive rock fans inspired by the D.I.Y. ethics of punk, but they also had a fondness for girl groups, pop, and rockabilly.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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This self-titled opening salvo of the Smiths' four-year war with mediocrity stands proud as one of the era's most innovative and unique works. Flying in the face of the pomp and artifice that prevailed in pop music at the time, the Smiths raged against their makeup- wearing, synth-playing contemporaries and squarely put rock back on the agenda. Guitarist Johnny Marr married the tunesmanship and harmonic richness of his Motown heroes with the rage of punk, while Morrissey's bedroom confessionals were catnip to England's (and later the world's) disenfranchised youth.

THE SMITHS demanded, and received, instant attention, desirable and otherwise, making a reluctant guitar hero out of Marr and a poster boy out of Morrissey. The jarring juxtaposition between Marr's lilting, densely-layered guitar lines and Morrissey's lyrics and plaintive delivery makes magic of "This Charming Man" (whose theme of sexual ambiguity was to remain prevalent in the group's work) and the gentle major-seventh chords of "I Don't Owe You Anything." The tender "Suffer Little Children," a paean to a group of murdered children in the band's native Manchester, gave the band their first (though far from their last) taste of public controversy.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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HATFUL OF HOLLOW includes songs recorded live for BBC Radio 1.
A composite of radio sessions and sundry early singles, HATFUL OF HOLLOW provides an alternative snapshot of the Smiths' early career. Compiled in the wake of their debut album, it exhibited all of their considerable strengths, in particular Johnny Marr's ringing, expressive guitarwork. The riff he creates on 'How Soon Is Now' is thoroughly captivating. Vocalist Morrissey's distinctive croon and solipsistic lyrics are already unique and give the group its originality. At times ironic, at others wistful (as on 'Back To The Old House'), he takes the Smiths into new areas of expression and his contrasting visions are fully expressed herein.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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THE SMITHS Meat Is Murder (2006 Japanese exclusive limited edition 10-track CD album, the band's 2nd studio longplayer, originally released in 1985, and was their only original release to reach #1 on the UK charts, includes the single 'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore' plus the classic 'How Soon Is Now?' has also been added to the line up [as apposed to the UK original which contains just the 9 tracks], presented in mini LP-style card sleeve with mini replica inner sleeve.

MEAT IS MURDER found the Smiths further honing their craft, tightening and brightening their sound. Unlikely heroes at home in the UK, and starting to break through the cracks in the States, they latched inextricably onto a generation of youth on a global scale with this album, making vegetarians and animal-rights activists out of more than a few of their overcoat-wearing devotees. The most straight-ahead of the Smiths' albums in terms of production, MEAT IS MURDER is a rootsy effort, driven largely by Johnny Marr's lush acoustic guitar arrangements.

The album, however, is far from folky. While the frenetic pace and dolorous lyric "Rusholm Ruffians" and the gentle, haunting "Well I Wonder" have acoustic backbones, the blistering fury of "What She Said" and the cascading echoes of "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" are purely electric, and are exactly the reason behind the reverence with which Marr found himself being graced from here on. Morrissey takes a humorous stab at royalty (not his last by any means) over the quick shuffle of "Nowhere Fast." The album closes on an intense, epic note with the dramatic, compelling title track, a graphic anthem for the cause celebre of vegetarianism.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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THE SMITHS The Queen Is Dead (2006 issue Japanese exclusive limited edition 10-track CD album, originally released in 1986 as the band's 3rd studio album, including the singles 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' and 'Bigmouth Strikes Again', presented in mini LP-style gatefold card sleeve with mini replica inner sleeve.

Meat Is Murder may have been a holding pattern, but The Queen Is Dead is the Smiths' great leap forward, taking the band to new musical and lyrical heights. Opening with the storming title track, The Queen Is Dead is a harder-rocking record than anything the Smiths had attempted before, but that's only on a relative scale – although the backbeat is more pronounced, the group certainly doesn't rock in a conventional sense. Instead, Johnny Marr has created a dense web of guitars, alternating from the minor-key rush of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and the faux rockabilly of "Vicar in a Tutu" to the bouncy acoustic pop of "Cemetry Gates" and "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side," as well as the lovely melancholy of "I Know It's Over" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." And the rich musical bed provides Morrissey with the support for his finest set of lyrics. Shattering the myth that he is a self-pitying sap, Morrissey delivers a devastating set of clever, witty satires of British social mores, intellectualism, class, and even himself. He also crafts some of his finest, most affecting songs, particularly in the wistful "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" and the epic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," two masterpieces that provide the foundation for a remarkable album.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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In 1987, Rough Trade released at least two collections of singles and B-sides by the Smiths. The U.S. audience saw the release of Louder Than Bombs, which collected 24 assorted tracks. U.K. fans were handed The World Won't Listen, with 16 tracks. Most ardent fans of the band obviously gobbled up both releases. The 12 shared tracks across the two albums are "Panic," "Ask," "London," "Shakespeare's Sister," "Shoplifters of the World Unite," "Asleep," "Unloveable," "Half a Person," "Stretch Out and Wait," "Oscillate Wildly," "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby," and "Rubber Ring." That means there are four tracks here that aren't included on Louder Than Bombs, and there are 12 tracks on Louder Than Bombs that aren't included here.

Going into the merits of the tracks isn't necessary; there's not a clunker to be found in the Smiths's discography. The funny, annoying, and/or incredible thing about both the Smiths and Morrissey is that so many songs (singles or B-sides) make appearances on so many different albums. Any die-hard fan of the Smiths is going to want or need both albums, just to have a complete collection of releases (not songs). Even then, there's going to be much repetition across the actual full-length albums and best-of collections. If an album called "The Bombs Won't Listen" or "Louder Than the World" was to be released tomorrow, there'd be an audience for it; granted, it would be a smaller audience than in the heyday of the Smiths. Many people consider the Morrissey/Marr duo to be the last great songwriting team; any release by the Smiths is indispensable to this audience. A casual fan in the U.S. might due well to simply pick up Louder Than Bombs, since The World Won't Listen's additional tracks ("Bigmouth Strikes Again," "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side," and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore") are all found on the major, full-length releases of the band, thus paying for the price of the import might not be justified.

Exclusive Japanese limited edition reissue of their 1987 compilation album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. 16 non-album single A and B-sides plus some key album tracks including 'Panic', 'Ask', 'Shakespeare's Sister', 'Shoplifters Of The World' and more.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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A compilation of singles, B-sides, album tracks, and BBC sessions assembled for the American market, Louder Than Bombs is an overlong and unfocused collection that nevertheless boasts a wealth of brilliant material. Since Hatful of Hollow was unavailable in the U.S. at the time of the release of Louder Than Bombs, this compilation contains large chunks of that album, as well as several cuts from The Smiths, which makes the record a little redundant for most Smiths fans. Also, Louder Than Bombs contains some of the worst material the group ever recorded, including the bland instrumental "Oscillate Wildly" and a cover of Twinkle's "Golden Light." Excluding all of this material, the remainder of the record is brilliant.

The singles "Shakespeare's Sister," "Panic," "Ask," "Shoplifters of the World Unite," and "Sheila Take a Bow" are all definitive, as are the elegiac "Unloveable," "Asleep," "Stretch Out and Wait," and "Half a Person," which are all unavailable anywhere else (excluding the British counterpart to Louder Than Bombs, The World Won't Listen). Furthermore, the sneering, bouncing pop of "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" and the bizarre travelogue of "Is It Really So Strange?" are two other essential songs not available anywhere else. Though The World Won't Listen is a more concise collection, Louder Than Bombs is a necessary purchase for any Smiths fan.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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Recorded as the relationship between Morrissey and Johnny Marr was beginning to splinter, Strangeways, Here We Come is the most carefully considered and elaborately produced album in the group's catalog. With producer Stephen Street, the Smiths created a subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller production than before. Morrissey and Marr also labored hard over the songs, working to expand the Smiths' sound within their very real boundaries.

For the most part, they succeed. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish," "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before," and "I Won't Share You" are classics, while "A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours," "Death of a Disco Dancer," and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" aren't far behind. Strangeways is a graceful way to bow out. While it doesn't match The Queen Is Dead or The Smiths, it offers a summation of the group's considerable strengths.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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For many Smiths fans, Rank is as close as they will get to a live performance from Morrissey, Johnny Marr, and company. Recorded live at The National Ballroom in London in October of 1986, roughly six months before they disbanded altogether, these 14 songs capture the Smiths performing in full-on rock-star mode. Though Grant Showbiz's production and engineering work consistently places Morrissey's voice too loud in respect to the rest of the band, the performance is suitably epic, hit-packed, and engrossing.

Morrissey is in fine form, randomly trilling and squawking throughout, providing enough cocky banter and personality that the fact that he's nearly out of breath for half the performance doesn't put a damper on the festivities. Highlights abound: the opening shot of "The Queen Is Dead" bristles with emotion and post-punk fury; "Vicar in a Tutu" sees an energized Morrissey employing interesting, bizarre vocal inflections and a series of endearing growls; "I Know It's Over" is perhaps more harrowing and brittle here than anywhere else in the band's discography, as Morrissey surrenders to emotion while the soil falls over his head. It's hard to tell if Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke were having their best nights, since their contributions are buried deeper in the mix than would seem appropriate. Somehow, Johnny Marr's distinctive, manic jangle manages to escape the production and demand attention, especially on his solo creation "The Draize Train." Still, one has to wonder why "The Draize Train" was included over such staples as "How Soon Is Now," "I Want the One I Can't Have," and the eight other songs that were recorded during the concert but not included on the album. Perhaps they weren't seen as worthy representations, but there is certainly additional time left available on the CD edition, where at least two or three more songs could have been added. It really would be interesting to see how the band tackled "Meat Is Murder," "How Soon Is Now," and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" that night. Absolute completists might want to track down the bootleg recording …The Bad Boy From a Good Family, which presents the National Ballroom concert in a more complete light. Rank is an essential part of any Smiths fan's collection, and it's an enlightening live peek at a foursome who many deem the greatest band of the 1980s, and more than a few others deem the last great band period.

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The Smiths - 8x Japanese Mini-LP Collection (1984-1988) {2006 Warner Music Japan} [re-up]

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